Passenger bitten by emotional support dog on Delta flight

Frightening moments at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a Delta spokesperson said a passenger was bitten by an emotional support dog aboard a Delta flight.

Delta said the passenger had to be taken off the flight to receive medical attention. Passenger Bridget Maddox-Peoples said it appeared the man was mauled by the dog and was badly injured.

“The gentleman’s face was completely bloody, blood in his eyes, cheeks, nose, his mouth, his shirt was covered in blood,” said Maddox-Peoples.

Maddox-Peoples said the dog was possibly a lab mix weighing about 50 pounds. She also said the victim was sitting by the window and the dog's owner was in the middle seat with his dog. Another passenger said he saw the dog sitting in his owner's lap.

Maddox-Peoples said Delta’s flight crew immediately got help and paramedics walked the man off the plane. She said the man was noticeably shaken up.

Delta issued the following statement to FOX 5:

"Prior to pushback of flight 1430, ATL-SAN, a passenger sustained a bite from another passenger's emotional support dog. The customer who was bitten was removed from the flight to receive medical attention. Local law enforcement cleared the dog, and the dog and its owner were re-accommodated on a later flight; the dog will fly in a kennel."

Another passenger said that the dog's owner was described by the flight crew as a "combat veteran" and that the man was cradling the dog in his arms in the gate area and that the crew saw him weeping, repeatedly saying, "I know they're going to put him down."